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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · face · bore · can · press · plane · row · last

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. can — a tin
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. bore — to drill
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. face — part of the head
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — finally
  11. last — final
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. face — to confront
  15. press — to push
  16. plane — a tool
  17. bore — to tire
  18. chair — a leader
  19. press — newspapers
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. row — to paddle
  22. can — a tin
  23. press — a publisher
  24. row — a line

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com